Circuits of Faith
by Solknight371st
Summary: Sequel/Continuation to Simple Intentions. Nanoha Takamachi is called to investigate a new magical signature and finds herself involved with beings far older and more powerful than she can imagine. What can be seen as a crime to some may just be a means to an end for others.
1. Briefing

**Authors Note: Thank you everyone for your patience. I'm not good with long intros, so here is the sequel/continuation of Simple Intentions and the start of the main storyline. Please enjoy.**

Chapter 1: Briefing

Long-range teleportation is a rather interesting process. From the outside, it just looks like someone is being warped to a faraway location. The actual process is a bit more complicated. It wasn't something Nanoha Takamachi liked to think about.

According to Vita and several others she had talked to, the process involved breaking down a person's being into data, moving that data to another point in space, and then reconstructing the data into the person being sent. All she knows is that she became violently ill the first time she was warped.

Being told that a lot of other people become ill as well didn't ease her mind.

Nevertheless, Nanoha managed to force down her queasiness as her body came into being. The usual feeling of weightlessness accompanying the warp before her feet hit the ground certainly didn't help.

Blinking away the light in her eyes, Nanoha stepped out of the teleportation pod and onto the deck.

"Attention!" A voice to her left drew her attention. Turning towards the voice she saw a group of six people, four male and two female, standing at attention. A quick glance to her side showed several bridge attendants saluting her as well.

"Welcome aboard Captain Takamachi." A new voice brought her back to the center of the bridge. In the center of everything stood a man in a white officers uniform, the grey hairs poking out from under his hat and around his face, as well as the numerous medals decorating his uniform, showing his years of experience.

Nanoha quickly turned on her heels and saluted the veteran. "General Dawson, it's an honor. And thank you again for allowing us to come aboard the Augustine."

Dawson let out a gruff laugh. "Nonsense. I should be thanking you. It's not everyday that the Ace of Aces comes aboard a small ship like this." It was technically true. Nanoha hadn't been on many L class ships since the Athura, and most of the time it was so she could make jumps to larger ships.

"Please, make yourself at home." He waited for Nanoha to drop her salute before continuing. "We should be arriving at our destination in thirty hours."

With a light bow, Nanoha thanked the general and turned towards the group that saluted her earlier. A smile made its way onto her face as she recognized the man in the middle of the group.

The man in question snapped to attention as she walked up to him, followed shortly by the rest of his group. "Captain Takamachi. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

Sighing to herself, Nanoha quickly saluted back before addressing him. "It's good to see you again Roland. Congratulations on making Lieutenant." Before he could answer she continued. "I didn't have much time to look over the mission, so I will be expecting a full briefing." Receiving a quick nod, she started towards the door.

Without another word, Roland and the rest of his team followed her.

Roland North was a cadet she had trained three years ago, who had risen quickly to the rack of Lieutenant. She recalled him being rather good with a sword as well as being rather skilled at immobilization spells. Nanoha found herself smiling. A teacher always felt good knowing their students were able to succeed, and Nanoha was no different.

* * *

"So then, what's the situation?"

Nanoha sat down on one of the couch in the lounge, temporarily abandoned except for Roland's team and herself. Looking over Roland's shoulder, she could see the rest of the group spread out behind him. One of the men on the team, Tom she believed, shifted in his seat. The man next to him however, looked almost bored.

_They're either nervous or too inexperienced to realize they are. Great._ Looking at the other two men, she saw similar expressions covering their faces. Turning her attention to the two girls gave her a different sight. The redheaded girl, Alice, was staring at Nanoha as though she was some amazing treasure. The blond however, was staring off into space… except when she would glance over at Nanoha only to quickly look away and blush.

"We've received reports of multiple unusual magical signatures in a remote dimension. The planet the signatures are coming was believed to be a Type-C planet, however recent observation has shown it to actually be a Type-A planet."

Nanoha was pulled out of her musings at this news. Type-C is a designation given to a planet that has no recordable magical presence or mana, but still houses a significant population. In her own terms, an Earth-like planet. A Type-A planet on the other hand, is one that not only has a large mana presence, but one with a large population of magic users as well. For a planet to change classifications that quickly was definitely surprising.

Roland continued with his report. "What's more, the magical signatures are not only different in origin from the general magical population, but are many times greater in rank as well."

"Wait." Nanoha held up her hand to stop Roland from continuing. "First, when you say 'different in origin', what do you mean? Do you mean that these new magical signatures don't use the same system as the planet they are on?" A nod from the young Lieutenant confirmed her fears. "Wonderful. So that means we're dealing with a group of mages that set up shop on another planet."

The Ace leaned back against the couch and brought a hand to her head. _This is going to be fun. _She had seen cases like this pop up from time to time. Some mage would find a way to another planet, either through magical means or were aided by another mage, and would try to take control or gain power. In these cases, it was usually easy to spot the offending mage, since their magic system would be different from that of the general population.

However, that brought up her next question. "Roland? How is it that a Type-C planet is suddenly reclassified as a Type-A planet? What kind of errors did the investigation team make that they overlooked such a large magical society?"

Roland, to his credit, only flinched slightly at Nanoha's tone. Not to his credit however, he fumbled around with the holo-screen in his hands as he tried to look for the information he needed. "W-well… the reason for that is…"

"The reason is that the investigation team didn't detect it at first."

Nanoha jumped at the familiar voice. Turning towards the door she saw a young man wearing a green suit with blond hair fix his glasses and smile at her.

"Yunno-kun?" She quickly stopped herself from getting up and running over to hug him. There would be time for that later. "You're here too?"

Yunno laughed as he made his way over to one of the tables. "Yes actually. I was asked to help with deciphering the magical system used on this planet."

Nanoha groaned inwardly as she realized she had inadvertently accused her longtime friend of not doing his job properly. "I see." She coughed into her hand to hide her embarrassment. "And what exactly did you find?"

"I'm glad you asked actually." He nodded towards the squad behind him. "I'd actually like to speak to you about that. There are some things I think you should know before heading off."

Nanoha raised an eyebrow at him. She didn't quite understand why he couldn't say whatever it was in front of everyone, but she knew better than to question the librarian at this point.

With a nod, she dismissed the squad and asked that they leave. Ignoring the groan from Alice and a couple of the guys, she watched as everyone left the lounge and the door shut behind them.

"Now then-."

Yunno didn't get to finish as he was tackled into a hug.

"Nyahaha. It's good to see you again Yunno-kun. It's been way too long."

Yunno simply sighed and returned the hug. "It's good to see you too Nanoha."

* * *

"And that's the story." Closing the book in his hand, the blond librarian looked up to see his friend crouched over the table deep in thought.

It was certainly a lot to take in. Not only had finding out about a rather large magical society been a shock, but also learning that there was archived information about this planet was an even bigger shock.

For once, Yunno had to question just how much information was stored in the Infinite Library. Along with information gained from ancient texts, the library had recently started gathering information from other worlds. It seemed that among the thousands of populated worlds out there, that were currently known, there were some that just contained mass amounts of information. These particular worlds have since been called "Archive Planets".

Yunno cast his eyes over the various books and papers covering the table in front of him. Each of those books contained some information about the planet they were headed to. The only difficulty was picking the relevant information out of the story within these comics.

"Magic Circuits, huh?" Nanoha's question brought him out of his thoughts. "That's what this system is called?"

"Uh, yes, that's right." Yunno pushed his glasses closer to his eyes and picked up one of the papers scattered across the table. "This planets mages use a system of magic wherein they take mana into their bodies and shape it through the use of these circuits. You can almost think of them as bundles of nerves."

Seeing Nanoha grimace, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, it does seem a bit dangerous, but from what little we've seen, it seems to be an effective form of magic." Judging by Nanoha's expression, she didn't quite agree. Yunno continued, "This also explains why we were unable to notice this planet's mage population."

"Because their magic is shaped internally and applied directly to the environment. Right?"

"Exactly. At least from what we've seen." He spared a quick glance at one of the papers on the table. Judging by some of the pictures, the mages of this planet could probably keep pace with ancient Belkan mages or knights. The thought was a bit frightening.

"And? The other magical signature?"

Shaking his head, Yunno pushed those thoughts out of his mind. "Right. We've only just made the connection, but the magical signatures that called you out here are extremely similar to another magical signature discovered recently." Yunno turned away from the table. "We have Fate and Signum to thank for that information. The reports they've sent back so far have been very useful for our investigation."

He couldn't help sighing under his breath. He knew there was something between the two of them; he just didn't know what that something was. So, he turned away so as not to see her reaction to the mention of Fate's name. He thought it would be easier to work up his courage that way.

"So, all of these mangas are important for your research huh?" Confused by the sudden change in topic, Yunno turned back towards the table to see Nanoha holding up a book with an unreadable expression covering her face. "Even things like this?"

Yunno paled. The book Nanoha was holding showed a blonde woman in a rather revealing white dress being held by another woman in a concealing purple robe. Embarrassed, Yunno quickly looked away.

"T-t-that w-was just p-part of what was s-sent over." He was practically shaking. Of all the things could be sent as research material, why did something like that have to be sent over. He would have to have a long talk with his assistant once he got back.

"So… you're into this kind of stuff?"

"W-what? N-no that's… Arf sent over everything."

"Ehh? Now you're blaming Arf-san? That's too cruel Yunno-kun." Nanoha puffed out her cheeks in an attempt to look angry.

Accepting his defeat, Yunno dropped his head in shame. "Don't tease me like that Nanoha." Nanoha's laughter was all he needed to know she was joking.

_Well. There goes that chance._ Straightening himself out, Yunno looked over to see Nanoha studying the various books in front of her. He coughed to get her attention.

"Anyway, we unfortunately don't have much information about these so-called 'Youkai', so we'll have to play things by ear." Nanoha nodded. "I'll let you know if anything is sent over from the library. Until then…" Yunno motioned towards the door to the lounge. "You should go and meet with everyone."

Nodding her assent, Nanoha stood and started for the door. She seemed to be returning to what everyone affectionately called 'work-mode Nanoha'.

However, before she reached the door, Yunno called out to her.

"Nanoha." She jumped a bit in surprise. "I know this is a strange time but," Yunno scratched his cheek. "I was wondering if you would like to, maybe, meet up once we get back home. You know, grab some dinner together, or something."

Nanoha jumped at the sudden question and turned away, her cheeks red in embarrassment. He didn't blame her. It wasn't everyday that one of your oldest friends asks you out.

"Yunno-kun." He turned back towards her, eager for her response. "Sorry," only for his mind to blank. "I already have a date set for when I get back." It felt like the world had just ended.

He could only sigh in resignation. It seemed Fate had made her move before he did. "I see.

Yunno lowered his head. He could already hear her next words before she said them.

"Umm. I mean, I can't do anything when we get back." The brown haired ace scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "B-but, maybe the day after…?"

She was cut off by Yunno shaking his head. "It's fine Nanoha. Thanks."

"But…"

Yunno waved her off. "I said it's fine Nanoha." He walked over to her. "Any more and she'll get jealous."

He didn't think it was possible for her face to get any redder. "Eh? Wait how did you…?"

The librarian couldn't help but laugh at how flustered she was. If he had to find a silver lining to his bad timing, it was getting to see the famous Ace of Aces flounder around in embarrassment.

"Honestly, you really aren't the best at keeping secrets." He turned her towards the door and gave her a push. "Go and get yourself ready for the mission. The sooner this is done, the sooner you can go on your date. Right?"

Nanoha pouted over her shoulder. Uttering a sincere apology, the ace took a deep breath to calm herself and stepped through the sliding door. She was stopped five steps later as half the occupants of the ship mobbed her for an autograph.

* * *

"Attention".

At her command, the six soldiers in front of her snapped to attention. She looked over them seeing some of the nervousness from before fading away. Everyone in the teleportation room was quiet, either surprised by the sudden command, or eagerly listening to the famous captain.

"We've arrived at our destination. Our mission is as follows."

A holo-screen appeared in front of Nanoha to show an overhead view of a city. "This is our target." The screen changed to show a large circle that surrounded a small part of the city itself but surrounded all the neighboring towns. "This circle represents a powerful magical field. Surveillance has shown that this field has cut off all communication between those in the city and those outside."

Nanoha scanned the soldiers in front of her, making sure they were still with her so far.

"Due to the unknown origins of the field, it is impossible to tell whether it was made by this planet's mages, or by the Youkai, the owners of the large magical signatures." Several heads nodded in understanding. "Therefore, our mission is twofold. First, we are to infiltrate the magical field and survey the situation inside. Yunno-ku-, I mean, Chief Librarian Yunno Scrya, has assured me that we will be able to pass through the field." She looked to the side to see her friend smile his confirmation. "Second, we are to determine the offending party responsible for the barrier, and aid those in need. After that, we can deal with the party responsible."

"According to the information we've obtained, the mages of this planet are not flight-capable. Therefore, everyone will be grounded unless absolutely necessary."

A small groan from Alice drew her eyes. The offending girl quickly straightened up under Nanoha's stern gaze. "Remember, we are not Enforcers. Our mission is to help those in distress and keep them safe no matter what the situation is. Is that understood?"

A loud chorus of confirmation rang through the hall. Nodding to herself, Nanoha lightly touched the red jewel handing around her neck. In a flash, she felt the familiar sensation of her white and blue Barrier Jacket covering her as well as the magical field it granted. Opening her hand slightly, she could feel her device, Raising Heart, form in her palm.

Looking up, she could see her unit suiting up in similar flashes of light. A weight on her staff caught her attention in time for her to see a brown ferret run up her arm and sit on her shoulder. Nanoha couldn't stop the smile that formed on her lips as memories from the past suddenly surfaced.

Seeing everyone ready, she nodded to the operator behind her and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, the uncomfortable weightlessness returned.

Opening her eyes again, the captain was greeted with the sight of a line of trees with a large black dome looming in the distance. Pushing down the nausea caused by warping, Nanoha ran forward, with the sounds of her unit close behind her.

The mission had begun and her target was right in front of her. Setting up a barrier, and without a second thought, Captain Nanoha Takamachi jumped into the field surrounding Fuyuki City.

**Author's Note: Thank you for reading.**

**Now, I would like to say that I do not know much of anything in regards to military protocol. I'm mainly just going off of popular media. With that said, I would greatly appreciate any feedback in that regard. Not only will greater accuracy make the story better, but it will help me get better as well.**

**Once again, thank you for reading.**

**Solknight371st**


	2. Meeting of Faith

**Author's Note: Before I get started, I would like to thank my reviewers. Thank you to Ragnarok for helping me rethink how I was going to expand Yunno's role. I am well aware of just how powerful he is, and I hope to show that later.**

**Hopefully the next chapter will come sooner.**

Chapter 2: Meeting of Faith

She thought the nausea from warping was bad. At this point, she would gladly warp across the universe and back, as that would be a relaxing compared to this. Warping at least didn't make you feel like the most horrible being on the planet.

She wanted to throw up. Every second felt like an eternity. Whatever this field was made of had broken through her barrier after touching it. No, broken wasn't the right word. It was more like this black ooze seeped through her barriers and was trying to consume whatever it could.

Feelings of pain and hatred clawed at her mind. She had no idea what this blackness was; all she wanted was to get away from it as fast as possible.

[Master]

A familiar voice resounded in her ears as pieces of her Barrier Jacket exploded outward, giving her room to move. With muscles trained from years on the battlefield, Nanoha launched herself forward and out of the black ooze.

Light filled her vision as she tore out into the open. Being able to quickly assess her surroundings and act was one of the skills she was proud of. Without a second thought as to her condition, Nanoha dropped into a roll and readied her weapon upon hitting her feet.

A quick glance through blurred vision placed her on the outskirts of the city and within walking distance of the nearby town. The area thankfully was deserted as well.

Several sharp gasps from behind her alerted Nanoha to her team's situation. Without looking behind her she could tell what happened. Two of her group had collapsed upon exiting the field, while another one was stumbling about trying to get their bearings.

Two figures quickly jumped into position in front of her. The sound of heavy armor hitting the ground to her left confirmed that the blond girl, Nala, was relatively unharmed. On her right, the sound of a sword being drawn alerted her to Roland's presence. A heavy thud behind her signified the final member of her unit, Johan, taking up position between her and their fallen comrades.

"Yunno-kun!" Not daring to shift her gaze from the open area in front of her, Nanoha yelled to her partner. She wouldn't show it, but she was relieved when she felt a pair of small feet jump off her back.

"On it." Without wasting time, the shapeshifter opened the largest healing circle he could muster. Within seconds, Nanoha could feel her Barrier Jacket start to reform and vision return to normal.

"What the hell was that?" Looking over her shoulder, Nanoha could see Johan propping himself up with his axe. Alice was using her staff for support behind him as she tried to move her comrades away from the edge of the field. A nod from Nanoha was enough for Roland and Nala to break formation and go help their comrades.

Once she was sure that they weren't in any immediate danger, Nanoha slowly got to her feet. "I'm not sure." She looked back to see how everyone was doing. Roland, Nala, and Johan seemed to have suffered the least damage from jumping through the field. Alice, the groups gunner, was still propping herself up with her staff, though Nanoha was impressed with how she still tried to help. The two that fell unconscious, their Full-Back Michael and their sniper Tom, were both just starting to regain consciousness.

Looking back at the black field they had all jumped through, she felt a strange uneasiness. Whatever was inside the field felt completely… evil. That was the only word that came to mind, and it seemed to fit. Stopping to think about it, if that field and whatever it was made of was that powerful, why were they able to enter the city at all.

Turning her gaze to the center of the healing circle to look a Yunno, who had changed back into his human form, she could see he was most likely wondering the same thing

* * *

"Well, what's the situation?" Nanoha turned around as three of her unit stepped into the barrier. It had been close to an hour since they had managed to break into the city. Deciding that they needed to know what was going on, Nanoha had asked the three members of her unit who had recovered first to search the immediate area.

"It doesn't look good Captain. Actually, it's a bit… unsettling." Roland was the first to speak up. At seeing his captain's curious look, he started to continue only to be cut off.

"Unsettling? Are you out of your mind? It's downright creepy." Nala rubbed her arms like she was shivering, her armor clinking with every movement. "The entire place looks deserted. There are broken windows and gouges in buildings everywhere. I'm also pretty sure I saw a pool of blood inside one of the stores." She violently shook her head, obviously bothered by what she saw.

"Come on Nala." Johan laughed at his teammates actions. "You saying a Modern Belkan is 'fraid of a little blood?"

"Shut up!" Nala turned towards the axe-wielder. "That wasn't just 'a little blood'. It covered nearly the entire floor. Who wouldn't be freaked out seeing that?"

Bringing a hand up to massage her temple, Nanoha groaned. Leaving the two Belkans to argue, she turned to Roland. Or more specifically, to the ferret sitting on Roland's shoulder.

As soon as Michael was able to stand, Yunno had left him in-charge of the barrier and had gone with Roland to gather information.

"Yunno-kun. What did you find?"

Without a sound, the brown ferret jumped off the Lieutenant's arm and began glowing. An instant later, a man dressed in green landed in front of the surprised knights. Nanoha had to stifle a giggle at Nala's shocked expression before remembering she had reacted in the same way.

The librarian adjusted his glasses before speaking. "Enough. There wasn't enough time to do a full sweep of the city, but I did manage to find something." He waited for Nanoha to nod before continuing. "I found several groups of humans hiding out among the city, most likely hiding from whatever caused this damage. Thankfully, I was able to find them thanks to some circuit mages hiding with them."

Nala and Johan had stopped arguing to listen to Yunno's findings. Judging by the impressed looks on their faces, and a whispered 'wow' from Michael, whatever they had expected from the young librarian, this wasn't it.

"I see. Anything in the town?"

"One or two smaller groups. Unfortunately, I don't know if there are anymore than that since I couldn't find any circuit mages to lock on to. But I did manage to locate our rogue mage hiding out at the town's temple." Nanoha raised an eyebrow. She had received some information regarding Youkai while on board the Augustine, and hiding away from humans didn't seem logical based on what she had learned about them.

"Um." Before she could question Yunno about that, a voice from behind her caught her attention. Nanoha turned around to see Alice raising her hand like she was back in school. "Captain Takamachi. This is looking a bit bigger than we thought it would be. Wouldn't it be better if we called for backup from a rescue squad?"

She could hear Roland grit his teeth. "That's…" While Alice's idea was correct, the situation made that too risky, and a look above them said why.

The black field surrounding them darkened the entire city to the point where you couldn't tell day from night. "I don't think that will work." She turned her attention back to Roland.

"This black barrier cuts off all communication with the outside. So one of us would have to go back out just to send a signal. Then again, it's likely this field is easier to get into than out of." Nanoha nodded in agreement. Pride in her former student swelling in her chest. It was good to see the observation skill she beat into him hadn't gone to waste.

_Nanoha._ A voice that wasn't her own invaded her mind. _About that Youkai signal, there's something you should know._ Nodding her head Nanoha asked him to continue. _According to my scans, there are at least two of them. One of the signals is moving around town at a rapid pace. I have to assume whoever or whatever it is has flight capability._

The news was shocking, but she didn't see why Yunno was being so secretive about it.

_That's the other thing._ She could hear him grit his teeth in her mind. _The one that's flying would qualify as an A rank mage. At minimum._

_Great._ She knew this was going to be a problem. _And the stationary signal?_

Her answer was a single letter. _S_. She realized this was again at minimum.

Now she understood. Learning that they would be going up against an A rank mage with magic they didn't know about would be enough to worry even experienced mages like herself. The mission itself had already taken a bad turn. It was up to her to now manage the information they did have.

"Alright then." Nanoha reformed Raising Heart and stepped towards the edge of their protective barrier. "Our mission hasn't changed. We are to ensure the safety of anyone in peril and lead them to safety. We don't know how many people, mages or otherwise, are in the city. Roland, Johan, Alice and Tom. The four of you will head into the city and find anyone you can." She turned towards the their Full-Back. "Michael, I want you to stay here and find a way back through this wall. Nala will stay behind for defense." Ignoring the blonde's groan of frustration, she continued. "Again, everyone will be grounded unless absolutely necessary. Roland I'm leaving that decision in your hands."

"Flight is your greatest weapon here. Use it only when absolutely necessary." Always save at least one trump card. That was one of her own personal rules, and something she would always try to teach to her students. "Communications will stay open at all time."

"And you, Captain?"

"I'll head into town and see what I can find out about our mystery mages." She knew they caught onto the plural usage. Before anyone could ask, she continued. "Yunno- kun has spotted two signals, a mobile A rank mage and a stationary S rank mage. I'll go and survey the situation."

"Wait, Captain Takamachi." Several of her squad stared at her as though she just grew another head. Nala was the first to say something. "You can't go alone. It's suicide. Let us go with you."

The ace shook her head. "No. We need you to find a way back through this barrier. Besides, I didn't say I was going alone." She smiled at the blonde librarian who simply scratched his head in exasperation.

Seeing everyone relax slightly, she nodded. "Remember, keep all communications open. I expect reports at regular intervals."

With a final salute, the four soldiers ran out towards the city. The armored woman walked back towards the barrier to try and help her friend in any way she could.

A small weight on her shoulder was all she needed to know her partner was ready. With mental confirmation from her device, the Ace of Aces turned towards the town and started running.

* * *

"But, it really is something to see it yourself." Footsteps echoed down the street. It didn't matter where she looked, all she saw was destruction. Floral shops, bakeries, restaurants, and clothing stores lined the street. What used to be a bustling shopping district was now reduced to broken-down buildings and, in one case, rubble.

"It's even worse in the city itself. Most of the damage in the town seems to be contained to just the shopping districts." Nanoha nodded her head, only to feel tiny paws grip the back of her jacket. She sent a mental apology while Yunno repositioned himself on her shoulder.

That reminded her, "Yunno-kun?" She shifted her hair so it wouldn't hit him again as she looked at him. "Why are you in your ferret form? Wouldn't it be easier if you were walking on your own?"

"Eh?" She didn't know how a ferret could look confused, but Yunno somehow managed. "What do you mean?"

She stopped to look into one of the many restaurants. The sign was half destroyed, but it looked like they were promoting some kind of curry dish. "Well, I mean, wouldn't it be easier to help me search if you were in your human form?"

"I guess." Yunno brought a paw up to his chin. "Then again, I think I'll just stay like this for now." Seeing Nanoha's confused look he continued. "According to our data, the mages on this planet use animal familiars for reconnaissance purposes. So if I stay like this, I just look like an ordinary familiar. Plus, this way I don't have to worry about keeping up with you on foot."

She had to agree with the first point. The second point however, "What do you mean 'keep up'?"

"Nanoha, just how far do you think we've traveled so far?"

Pulling her head out of the store she was looking in she looked back down the road. "Um, about two miles. Why?"

"And where do I normally work?"

"The Infinity Library." She wondered where he was going with this.

"Do you really think a librarian would be able to cover the kind of distances you expect from active soldiers?"

"Erk." That's right. She forgot.

"And before you say anything, yes I do run around the library all the time. But I also have flight, which as you recall, is not allowed."

_Ugh._ He had a point. Nanoha brought a hand to her head and sighed. "Sorry."

Her cheeks burned as Yunno laughed at her. "Don't worry about it. Besides, it feels kind of nostalgic."

"Nostalgic huh?" She had to admit she had the same feeling, but the way he said it seemed a bit… off. The last time they had worked together like this had been when she was nine years old after all.

Yunno, somehow able to sense her discomfort, decided to change the subject.

"By the way, Nanoha. This is your first time leading a team like this right? How does it feel?"

She tilted her head back and crossed her arms. "It's a bit weird. I'm used to directing cadets for training exercises, but directing them for situations like this is a bit different." She opened her eyes and smiled. "Then again, I did get a few pointers from Hayate-chan before I left." A light blush colored her face.

Before Yunno could ask what she meant, a feminine voice resounded through his mind.

[Warning: Unstable magical signature detected.]

Nanoha snapped out of her daydream, and brought her device into a ready position. "Raising Heart, you find something?"

[Yes. Sensors reconfigured to locate magical circuits.] Nanoha and Yunno nodded. [Unstable signature detected in close vicinity.]

_Over there._ Dropping her stance, Nanoha moved towards a nearby alleyway, her footsteps echoing down the street.

Reaching the alleyway, she stopped and instinctively jumped backwards. The smell coming from within was overwhelming. Holding her breath and covering her nose, she inched closer to the wall. A horrible crunching sound from inside stopped her from moving any farther.

_What is that?_ She didn't dare answer her partner, even telepathically. Gathering her courage, she stepped inside the dark alleyway.

The smell was even more horrible inside, and the amplified noises didn't make her feel any better. Each step forward made her want to run away, and the crunching and… were those slurping noises, certainly didn't help. Then it hit her.

_Chewing and slurping. Is someone eating something?_ Her answer came when her next step splashed something around her.

Red. Spots of red littered the ground. "Blood." _This isn't good._ Fighting down her unease, Nanoha turned the corner and stared at the sight before her.

In the middle of the alleyway were two people on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood. One figure, a young man, lay on his back as another man was crouched over him. Both were covered in bruises and blood, and the one laying down occasionally twitched. The figure that was crouched down lifted his head, and brought it down on the young man's neck.

She reacted. [Axel Shoot.] Five balls of pink energy appeared and shot towards the offending creature. With a loud crash, the orbs slammed into the man's body and flung him into the wall, cracking it.

Without another thought, Nanoha rushed to the fallen boy's side. Uncaring about the blood around her she knelt down to see what had happened. She wanted to scream.

Bite marks and torn flesh were visible all over the boy's body. She had to force down the bile rising in her throat at seeing his worst injuries, if you could call it that. His arm looked like it was chewed down to the bone and the sight of his throat forced her to look away.

"Dammit." The worst part was seeing the boy's still open eyes.

_Nanoha!_ Yunno's voice ripped through her head. She looked over just in time to see something slam against a large green shield. She jumped back only to hear whatever had just hit the shield crack loudly.

"What the…" The blood-soaked being in front of her roared, or did the best it could while missing part of it's throat. The arm that had hit Yunno's shield was twisted at an odd angle, no doubt broken from the attack.

Putting some distance between her and the creature, Nanoha leveled her device and fired another volley of shots. The shooting spell flew through the alley and connected with it's targets. A sickening crack echoed as the being's head snapped backwards.

She immediately regretted stopping to wonder if it was dead, as the being's head snapped back into position and it rushed forward with it's good arm. Swatting the arm away with Raising Heart, Nanoha forced magic into her legs and jumped out of the alleyway, leaving an after image in her wake.

Three more bullets hit their target, but each bullet did nothing more than knock the creature back. She knew what was wrong. The magic developed by the TSA is designed to inflict magical damage and overwhelm the target. However, if the target doesn't feel any pain or weakness, then magical damage will be absolutely useless.

"Damn. I don't have a choice." Leveling her device with her target once more, Nanoha invoked a magic circle beneath her feet. "Inhibitor bre-"

"Disappear from this world."

A flash of light blinded her. She could briefly see a piece of paper strike the creature before it exploded in flames. A horrifying screech filled the air as the creature burned within green flames.

Dispelling the magic circle under her, Nanoha turned to look for the source of the voice. A quick sweep down the street saw something floating at the top of her vision. Shifting her gaze skyward, Nanoha saw a young girl with green hair floating in the sky.

The girl looked around the same age as Nanoha and was wearing a long blue skirt and a white shirt with long sleeves that were sticking out of… a black leather jacket. Excusing the jacket, Nanoha couldn't help but be reminded of a shrine maiden from back home. The gohei and talismans she was holding helped solidify the thought.

"And may the Gods grant you peace." As though finishing a prayer, the green haired girl landed on the ground and smiled.


	3. Introductions

Chapter 3: Introductions

The girl landed lightly on the ground, a smile covering her face. Before Nanoha could inquire about the green haired girl in front of her, the girl's facial expression quickly changed to one of annoyance.

"And may the Gods grant you peace? Ah geez, that was way to cliché." The girl crossed her arms and closed her eyes as she fell into deep thought. Nanoha and Yunno could only exchange questioning glances at each other before she spoke up.

"Oh, I got it." The girl struck a pose reminiscent of some old cartoon hero. "Disappear from this world foul demon, your kind shall no longer be permitted to run free!"

Silence. After several seconds, the girl grabbed at her head and started screaming.

"Ahh! That's even worse!" If she hadn't just faced a zombie, Nanoha would have found this funny.

However, something hit her while she watched the girl pace and mutter to herself. _Common. She's speaking Common._

Dealing with new worlds was always difficult, and was usually made more difficult thanks to various language barriers. To simplify matters, the TSAB mandated teaching a common language among all schools on regulated planets as a second language. The idea was to allow for easier communication and trade among planets while allowing them to keep whatever unique languages already existed. But the question remained, how did this girl know Common, and who taught it to her?

"Umm. Excuse me?" With a start, the shrine maiden snapped out of whatever daydream she was having and turned towards the white Ace.

"Ahh, sorry." Coughing to herself, the girl straightened up and closed her eyes. "Another miracle given unto you from the Moriya Shrine. Your faith in the Gods has been given form." The girl bowed deeply. "I am pleased that you are unhurt."

The girl straightened back up and smiled at the girl in front of her, a genuine smile gracing her features. Nanoha could only sigh. Not only did the girl know Common, but the Japanese she just used was extremely accented, further adding to her confusion.

She decided to answer back in the girl's more familiar language. "Yes, thank you. But, if I may ask… who are you?" The question came out with a bit more bite than she had wanted. The girl in question however, seemed more surprised at Nanoha's use of Common.

"Huh?" The girl opened her eyes and actually looked at the person she had saved for the first time. Nanoha began to feel uncomfortable as she could feel the girl look her up and down. "A-are you…?"

"Sorry, but I'd prefer if we talked somewhere else." Eyeing the still smoldering remains of the zombie, Nanoha began walking back down the street. "I have a couple of questions I would like to ask you, and talking here seems a bit… disrespectful." Her eyes drifted towards the alley where the young boy lay. She inwardly cursed that she had apparently taken the 'miracle' meant for him.

"R-right. Yes, of course." The green haired girl excitedly followed after her. It seemed that she didn't know about the boy. As they walked, Nanoha couldn't help but wonder whether that was a good thing or not.

* * *

If Nanoha felt uncomfortable before, having a shrine maiden hover around and examine her made the feeling even worse. They had only walked a few blocks, but the girl's constant movements made the short trip feel even longer. Even Yunno was starting to get annoyed with her cooing over him.

"Um. I don't mean to be rude, but would you mind taking a step back?"

To her shock, the girl jumped back and started bowing. "Ahh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just curious is all."

Nanoha shared a confused look with her partner sitting on her shoulder before turning back to the girl. "What's your name?"

"Huh?" The girl stopped bowing, a blank look crossing her face momentarily. "S-Sanae. My name is Sanae Kochiya. I'm the shrine maiden of the Moriya Shrine." Sanae bowed her head in reverence for her shrine before looking back up at Nanoha. "Um. And your name is?"

She considered just giving her name, but judging from the girl's recent actions, it wouldn't matter. "Nanoha Takamachi. I'm a mage within the Time Space Administration sent to investigate this area."

"R-really!" Sanae's yell caught her off guard. "You really are a TSA mage?" Before she could say anything else, the shrine maiden had run back up to her. "So that's an actual Barrier Jacket and a real Device. You even have a familiar. This is so cool!"

Sanae frantically waved her arms, making the sleeves of her miko outfit flap about wildly, and Nanoha even thought she saw sparkles in the girl's eyes. She was used to people admiring her, as that kind of attention came with being famous, but getting this kind of attention as an ordinary TSA mage was a bit confusing.

Clearing her throat, Nanoha managed to calm Sanae down before she hit herself with one of her sleeves, only to have her trip as she stepped forward.

"Ow." Offering her hand, the brunette helped the miko back to her feet. A quick search of her surroundings revealed a broken sandal strap. "Aw darn it. This is why I hate these things. They break too quickly." Sanae started looking up and down the street, looking for something before quickly running off.

_Yunno-kun._ The brown ferret jumped off her shoulder before turning to watch the other girl. _That girl, Sanae-san, is it possible that she's from a registered planet? That can't be, right? Was she the magic signal you found in this area?_

_Yes she is. I confirmed it when she killed that thing back there. She's one of the Youkai signatures in this city._

_Then how does she know Common or about magical devices?_ Nanoha watched as Sanae peered through a store window. _There haven't been any records of meetings with Youkai before right?_

_She could have visited a registered world before and learned about everything there. As long as she didn't create a disturbance, she wouldn't really be noticed._ That was certainly true.

"Miss Takamachi!" Turning back towards the store, Nanoha saw Sanae wave to her as she walked into the store.

"Hold it!" _That idiot._ She rushed into the store. "What do you think you're doing? Do you know how dangerous it is to rush in blindly?" Sanae jumped back slightly. It seemed she wasn't used to being scolded.

"I-it's fine, really. My magic is strong enough to take out these monsters. I am a god after all."

_"_What?" Being a Youkai was one thing. Claiming to be an actual God was something else entirely. "What do you mean?"

"I. Am. A. God." Without looking up from the pile of shoes on the floor, the blue and green miko continued. "Well, I guess it's better to say that I became a god at… some point. I don't know when. I would have to ask Lady Kanako about that."

Nanoha could only stare at the girl in confusion as she tried to process this new information. "Hey. What do you think of these?"

Sanae turned around holding a pair of multicolored shoes. If she was looking for something to take her mind off of the new information she had received, wondering why this particular shoe brand decided to make their shoe look like an amateur painting was a good option.

"It seems a bit flashy for a shrine maiden don't you think?"

Seemingly agreeing, Sanae took another look at the shoes, scrunched her face in disgust, and threw them over her shoulder before turning back to the pile behind her.

[Incoming transmission.]

As Raising Heart's voice ripped through her mind, she was silently thankful that her device had acted silently. Sanae was already fangirling over her being a TSAB mage; she didn't even want to think about how the girl would react if she knew Raising Heart was intelligent.

_Report. What's your situation?_ Turning her back to the miko, she let her thoughts drift towards her unit.

Roland's voice echoed through her head. _Captain. We've made contact with one of the groups hiding in the city._

_And? How does everything look? Did you find any mages among them?_

Nanoha could hear Roland hesitate on the other end of their link. _That's the thing. We did find two mages hiding out among a group of about twenty people, but they didn't seem all that pleased to be called out in front of everyone._

She sighed. That was certainly to be expected based on the information they had on this planet. Then again, she figured any mages would be more willing to expose themselves during a crisis like this, especially if they had the power to protect others. Apparently she was wrong.

_There's something else._ Roland's voice brought her out of her musings. _When we made ourselves known, the people there seemed to think we were from some shrine. They didn't even believe us when we said we weren't._

Now this was surprising. Sparing a glance behind her to make sure Sanae wasn't hovering over her again, Nanoha had to wonder just what was going on. _Is that so?_

_We've managed to convince them that we are here to help them, but… they still believe we come from this 'Moriya Shrine', and are offering prayers to some little statue. _Roland was clearly confused. _What should we do?_

Another glance behind her. _Let them._ Confusion was her only response. _Let them believe you're from the shrine. If it will help us protect the people here that's fine. Besides, I've met the priestess from the shrine, and she doesn't seem like a bad person._ She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. A small yelp of success told her she didn't have a lot of time left for her call. _Even if she is a bit… peculiar._

Taking a second to look around the store, Nanoha spotted her partner sitting on top on one of the clothes racks. Judging by the annoyed look on his face, Yunno was conversing with Michael and Nala, and didn't approve of whatever they had found. She would have to ask for details later.

_By the way._ Shifting her gaze towards the door, the ace looked in the direction of the alleyway where she had fought that creature. _Have you run into any human-like creatures? Zombies I guess would be the best term._

_Um… no we haven't yet. May I ask why?_

_I have._

_W-wait! You mean like an actual zombie? Like in movies and stuff?_ She recognized the panicked voice as Alice's. She could hear the girl shudder, followed by Johan laughing at her.

_Yes, I do._ Johan's laughter stopped. _I engaged one, and these things are fast and powerful. Don't attempt to immobilize them. Kill them._ She could practically hear everyone gasp. Before any of them could ask the obvious question, she continued. _Yes, I'm serious. Whatever these things are they are no longer human. Your safety as well as the safety of those in your care should be your primary concern._

A quick approval from Roland and Johan, as well as a much shakier one from Alice and Tom, was all she needed. _All right. Keep me informed and be careful. Nanoha out._

"There!" A small sensation at the back of her head was the only warning she got. Shifting her weight forward and concentrating magic into her feet, Nanoha jumped down the aisle in front of her. Coming to a stop after several feet, she quickly swung her device behind her, a magic ring already visible around the edge of her staff. Turning her head to confirm her target, the ace was greeted with a visibly shocked miko. She still thought the leather jacket was too out of place.

Growling slightly, Nanoha dispelled the magic circles forming her spells, only to feel something fall onto her back. A quick examination of Sanae showed her holding two white ribbons.

"S-sorry sorry." Waving her arms in apology, Sanae quickly apologized. "I-I just t-thought… w-well I mean…"

"Geez. You shouldn't sneak up on people like that." Nanoha puffed out her cheeks and began walking back down the aisle. "You're lucky you aren't an enemy, otherwise you would be in the wall right now." She felt like she was lecturing a child.

Sanae took a look at the wall behind her. She didn't seem to doubt the mage's power, but seemed a bit skeptical about being thrown that far. "S-sorry. I just thought you would look better with your hair down."

Nanoha raised an eyebrow. Sighing slightly, she took the ribbons and started tying up her hair. "Yes. Just like that. It looks so much better with just the one."

Confused, the brunette turned to look in one of the dirty mirrors littering the store. To her surprise, she had tied her hair into a single off-centered tail, the way she normally had her hair.

"I see." Ignoring the girl in front of her momentarily, she dematerialized the extra ribbon and smiled at her reflection. "Did you find anything?" Her answer came in the form of Sanae happily spinning in her new dusty white sneakers. "Good, then we should get going. We don't want any more of those things showing up."

Seeing Sanae nod, Nanoha turned back towards the entrance of the store. "Yunno-kun." The ferret whipped its head towards her, obviously pulled out of his mental conversation, and ran towards his partner. As soon as she felt the familiar weight on her shoulder, she started towards the door.

"Darn kids. Don't they know how to craft basic investigation spells? Just what are they being taught these days?"

Nanoha could only raise an eyebrow at her partner. It was very rare to see his this upset. The last time this had happened, he had gotten into an argument with Shamal over some research topic she couldn't remember.

"Honestly, how hard is it to analyze a given material, classify it and index it against materials from the TSA's database?"

_I see._ "Yunno-kun." Realizing he was talking aloud, Yunno quickly stopped talking and looked over at the brunette.

"You do realize Michael doesn't have half the information in the Infinity Library memorized, right?" She had to admit, seeing a ferret blush was pretty funny.

Stepping outside, she was greeted with the sight of a shrine priestess pacing back and forth. "Sanae-san? What's wrong?"

"Oh. Um, Miss Takamachi, the thing is… I have to go and see Lady Kanako." Seeing Nanoha's confusion, she continued. "Well, I was kind of wondering if you would like to come with me, but I don't know if that would be alright."

"Why?"

"Eh? Well, I mean… you're the first human that I've really talked to, and well… I was hoping we could talk some more, you know?" The shrine maiden scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, a light blush lingering on her face.

She was surprised. She had to admit that the proposition seemed a bit risky since she would be going to meet another 'god', and this one may not be as friendly as Sanae was. However, seeing the girl so flustered helped ease her fears.

"Nyahaha. Sure. I still have some questions I need to ask you anyways. And meeting this Lady Kanako might speed things along."

"Really?" The green-haired jumped in excitement. "Are you sure? I mean, didn't you say you were here for some sort of mission? I don't want to get in the way."

Nanoha waved off her concerns. "It's okay. The rest of my unit is looking around the city."

"I see." Sanae looked down as though something had just occurred to her. "But, Miss Takama-"

"Nanoha."

"Eh?" Sanae blinked in surprise to being interrupted.

"Just Nanoha is fine. I don't really like being called by my last name anyways."

A fierce blush appeared on the miko's face. "M-Miss N-Nanoha?" The ace in question managed to give a forced laugh at the addition of the word 'miss', but it was enough to bring an honest smile to the girl's face.

"Oh, but I'm not sure if it would be alright for you to come with me. Lady Kanako doesn't really like visitors."

"We can deal with that when we get there." A small nod was her only response. "So then, where is your shrine?"

The miko shook her head briefly before pointing towards the edge of town. "The shrine is further down that way, closer to the residential area. It will be a lot faster if we fly." She stopped mid-breath and looked at the white and blue mage curiously. "Um, Miss Nanoha. Can you fly?"

She barely managed to suppress her natural response as her own warning to her unit played in her mind. Despite how convenient it would be, her best course of action would be to hide that ability. Also, based on Sanae's question, it looked like she didn't know that TSA mages were capable of flight. She made a mental note to find out just what kind of contact the miko had made.

"No, I can't."

"O-oh, right. Sorry." She looked more disappointed than sorry. Psyching herself up, the girl straightened herself up and extended her hand. Speaking in what Nanoha could only assume was her most professional voice, the girl proclaimed, "Well then, Miss Nanoha, allow me to grace you with the miracle of flight."

Smiling at the girl's showmanship, Nanoha grabbed Sanae's hand. Almost instantly, she felt a powerful wind whirl around her. The next instant, she found herself floating a few feet off the ground.

_Wind?_ It felt like the wind itself was pushing her upwards. It felt rather unsteady compared to her own flight, but chalked it up to her not being the one in control. A small groan from her shoulder told her Yunno felt the same way.

Without another word, the green and blue miko pushed against an invisible surface and took off towards the sky with the white and blue mage in tow.

* * *

She had to admit that Sanae was fast. Not as fast as Fate, but fast enough to keep up with Vita or herself. She also had to revise her opinion of the girl's method of flight as they weaved through the trees. Despite feeling the wind pushing on her from one direction at a time, they were surprisingly agile. Although one or two close calls with a tree made her wish the miko would stop showing off.

"We're here." With a powerful gust of wind, the two mages were pushed above the trees.

Nanoha couldn't help but gasp at the sight in front of her. A grand shrine stood at the top of the hill, looking down upon the town. A large wall surrounded the shrine, as well as the lake she could see behind it. What drew her attention was the large purifying rope hanging over the entrance. It looked… new, or at least newer than the surrounding building and gateway.

Having been set down just outside, the two walked through the gateway.

[Master. Barrier detected.] She didn't need to be told. Walking through the gateway, she felt like she was walking through water. Whatever could create a heavy barrier like this was certainly powerful. She was just glad that this barrier didn't have the same effect as the one surrounding the city.

"Um, what was it I was supposed to do?" Nanoha looked over to see Sanae poking at a couple of buckets with her gohei. "Crap, I forgot again. I hope she doesn't mind."

Stopping only to remove her new shoes, Sanae rushed into the shrine, beckoning for Nanoha to follow her.

A small tap on her neck stopped her before she could move. Looking herself over, she quickly recast the spells that formed her Barrier Jacket. She had to agree with Yunno, it would be better to enter clean than risk anything. She was a visitor after all.

With one final breath to steel herself, Nanoha stepped forward, the power emanating from inside threatening to overwhelm her as she entered the Moriya Shrine.

**Author's Note: As always, I would like to thank everyone for reading, and especially for all the feedback I have been receiving. On that note however, I would like to address a few issues.**

**I would like to start by saying that I do really appreciate every single review that has been left. There is however a reason this isn't a crossover with FSN. I am well aware of just how powerful Nasuverse characters can get and the fact that certain characters (Gil, Saber, Arc, etc.) would completely curbstomp the Nanoha-verse. Hell, there are probably very few Touhou characters that could stand up to someone like Gilgamesh(Reimu and Yukari come to mind(and only if Reimu floats out of the current dimension)).**

**The universe I've set up for this does have a few rules, which I will get to in due time, but right now I'm applying them to certain weapons and abilities. For example, just as Gáe Bolg has already hit, Remilia's Gungir is fated to always pierce. Things like that. This won't come up for a while, but I figured it was better to say it now.**

**As for Nasuverse characters appearing in this story, I only have one canon character slated for appearance. The other major Nasu-based character is an OC that you may have already met. *CoughSickDayCough***

**I don't plan to include anyone else simply because, based on the rules I'm using, they are TOO powerful. That and it is much easier to work with the Touhouverses danmaku.**

**Once again, thank you for reading. If you think I said too much, would like to hear more, or think this AN is completely unnecessary, please tell me. It's the only way I'll learn.**


	4. Will of the Gods Part 1

Chapter 4: Will of the Gods Part 1

Spacious. More spacious than should be possible. Those were Nanoha's first thoughts upon stepping into the main hall. Then again she was dealing with a self-proclaimed god, if she truly was as powerful as she claimed, spatial distortion should be no problem. Heck, Midchildia even made use of this sort of magic from time to time. She remembered briefly getting lost in the Infinity Library the first time she visited for exactly this reason.

Looking around, she could see shoji doors lining the walls all the way to the end of the chamber, as well as two more traditional doors at either end of the back wall. At the center of the room was what she assumed were stairs to the upper level. She couldn't be too sure, since if they were, they would lead back to the front of the shrine.

_So, you're not allowed to look upon god as you ascend._ She narrowed her eyes at the mural covering the stairs. _Snakes. Is she really that strong that she can think that highly of herself?_

Murmuring to herself a quick spell, Nanoha created three orbs of light in her hand. Whatever secrets this place held, she would find them.

_Wait, Nanoha!_ Yunno's voice ripped through her mind. Quickly banishing the spell, she turned to look at her partner.

_What's wrong?_

_It's too risky. Even with minimal magic, it's too risky to cast anything here._

_I suppose, but…_ The mural caught her eye. She had heard of gods taking the form of various animals. It was certainly possible they behaved like the animals they mimicked as well.

"Miss Nanoha? What's wrong?"

Pulled out of her thoughts by Sanae's voice, Nanoha looked over to see the girl peeking out from behind the stairs. "Sorry. I was just looking around. I'm quite impressed."

The green haired girl blushed slightly before laughing at the compliment. "T-thanks. But it's not really anything special." Seeing her new friend look at the various doors, she stepped out into the center of the hall and gestured to the sides. "There really isn't much here. We have sitting rooms for guests on either side." She pointed towards the door on the left end of the back wall. "That way leads to the facilities, the kitchen and the like." She gestured towards the other door. "And that way leads to the living quarters. We have plenty of rooms, even though I'm the only one living here." She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"You're the only one here? What about any family members?" An innocent question, but seeing the sad smile that graced the girl's face; she wished she could take it back.

"There isn't anyone else. Sanae Kochiya is the only one who serves the Moriya shrine."

_Only… Sanae Kochiya?_ The wording of the statement caught her off guard. However, before she could ask anything, the miko shook her head and flashed a smile at the mage.

"Well, we should get going. I really want you to meet Lady Kanako." With a bit more pep in her step, Sanae walked back towards the stairs and began climbing. Without much to do, Nanoha followed.

Turning around to climb the stairs left her feeling uneasy. It took more willpower than she would care to admit not to erect a barrier behind her. Fortunately, she had two friends to help defend her if the need arose.

"Lady Kanako! I'm back." With a small jump, Sanae reached the top of the stairs and turned towards the rear of the shrine.

Reaching the top herself, Nanoha quickly turned around and surveyed the area, Raising Heart never leaving her side. An open room met her analyzing gaze. The only things that caught her attention were the large statue at the back of the room and several wooden figures sitting beside it.

"Frogs?"

Her question went unanswered as a voice boomed throughout the temple.

"Welcome home Sanae. And I believe I should welcome our… guests."

Instinctively, Nanoha jumped back and turned her gaze to the woman sitting in front of the statue. No, that woman was the statue; she just didn't notice her until now.

The woman that took the place of the statue at the back of the room wore a dark red blouse with white sleeves as well as a long red skirt with what looked like flower patterns at the end. Her blue hair didn't seem out-of-place, considering Sanae's own green hair. However, the large mirror on her chest and the twisted rope circling behind her were enough to catch her attention.

The woman in red regarded her with a curious look, but didn't say anything. She seemed to be waiting for Nanoha to introduce herself.

Regaining her composure from the blue-haired woman's sudden appearance, Nanoha stepped forward. "Kanako-san, I presume." Receiving an amused smile as her only response, Nanoha continued. "My name is Nanoha Takamachi. I'm a mage within the Time Space Administration Bureau. I believe that name should sound familiar."

"Oh, them? I guess they are still around." The woman averted her gaze briefly, an unreadable expression clouding her face. "I suppose that explains how you managed to enter the city."

_This is it._ Tightening her grip on her device, Nanoha took another step forward, drawing the god's attention back to her. "Then I'll cut to the chase. Are you responsible for the barrier surrounding this city?"

The air suddenly grew heavy between the two. Neither one moved an inch as they sized each other up. Sanae, however, worriedly looked back and forth between the two, seemingly oblivious to the seriousness of the question asked.

The woman in red sighed, breaking the heavy atmosphere. "No, I'm not." Nanoha could feel her body relax as she let out a sigh of relief. "I never did have any skill in curse manipulation. It's too messy anyways." Despite the possibility of her lying, the woman's tone of voice seemed to suggest otherwise.

"Geez. Don't scare me like that. I thought the two of you were going to start fighting." The brunette looked over her shoulder to see the miko waving her arms around, her sleeves flailing wildly as a result. "You could have died Miss Nanoha. What are you thinking talking to a God like that?"

The two women fell silent as they just watched the blue-green miko mumble to herself. The silence was broken as the god started laughing.

"Well, this certainly is interesting. How long has it been since a human stood up to me like that?" The woman continued laughing to herself, a large smile on her face. "Here I thought you would be like the ghostly princess based on your outfit. But now you seem more like the Hakurei Miko from so long ago."

A twitch from her shoulder drew her attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her friend hunched over as though he was trying to remember something.

"I suppose I should introduce myself then." The blue-haired woman brought a hand to her chest. "Welcome to the Moriya Shrine. I am its Goddess, Kanako Yasaka." The woman leaned against the wall. "Then again, I must ask. Sanae, just where did you find such a human? Weren't you supposed to be out gathering faith?"

Sanae flinched. "I-I was Lady Kanako. I searched the town, saved Miss Nanoha, and… well, w-we just started talking I guess." The girl hastily gave a summary of the day's events to an increasingly annoyed Kanako.

"Sanae." The girl flinched again at the harsh tone. "I know you want to go around 'saving' people, but right now gathering faith is much more important. You know that." The woman's voice softened at the end, as the miko nodded in understanding.

"Faith? What do you mean?"

"Ah, that's right. I didn't tell you did I?" Sanae fumbled with her jacket as she turned to the brunette. "I told you I was a God right? Well, Gods don't grow or age like normal humans. Their life, as well as their power, is based on the amount of faith they gain from humans." Finding what she was looking for, she pulled out a small wooden statue and placed it in the mage's hands. "Therefore, in order to survive and manifest their powers, a God must gather faith from believers. A God with no faith will not only be unable to manifest their powers, but may end up disappearing as well."

"I see. So it's not for some selfish reason like gaining power, but rather a means of survival." A nod from both goddesses confirmed her statement. "But," Nanoha turned the small statue over in her hand, "why frogs? From the murals downstairs, I figured you would use something related to snakes."

Kanako reached over and picked up one of the frog statues next to her. "Ah, that. The truth is… I'm not the original God for this shrine. I actually won the shrine some… long time ago." She brought the wooden frog up to her eye level. "The original God loved frogs, so I modeled myself after a snake. The only problem is, snakes don't have the best reputation. So I decided it would be easier to gather faith using the image of frogs."

_I suppose that makes sense._ _However…_ "That seems a bit… evil." Kanako laughed.

"I guess it does. But, the winner can do whatever she wants right? So it doesn't really matter." Kanako continued to laugh at the expense of her old enemy. "Really though, why didn't you just ask Sanae earlier?"

Now it was Nanoha's turn to be confused. "The ornaments in her hair." She stopped and narrowed her eyes at Sanae. "She is still wearing them right?"

Sanae brought a hand up to the side of her head. Pulling away a few loose strands, she revealed a white braid resembling a snake, as well as a green and white pin further up on her head. Sure enough, the white would be enough to draw attention normally, except when there was something else that grabbed that attention because it was so out-of-place.

Kanako sighed. "It's because you keep wearing that dusty old thing."

Sanae puffed up her cheeks. "It's not dusty. And I happen to really like it."

The red God simply waved off her comments. "That's enough. Just go and get changed. Your sleeves are getting all messed up."

With a dejected sigh, the miko turned back towards the stairs. As her footsteps gradually disappeared, Nanoha became very aware of her position. She was standing in front of a literal god, in her own home. Without Sanae around to lessen the tension, things could get out of hand very quickly. Unconsciously, the ace's grip tightened on her device.

"So then, now that we are alone, I believe the two of you have a few questions for me."

"I guess there's no helping it." Soft paws hit the floor as the two mages stared at the living god.

Kanako raised an eyebrow at the small animal. "Aren't you going to change forms? Surely it can't be comfortable staying like that for so long."

"Thank you for your concern, but I quite like this form." Kanako simply shrugged. Accepting this, Yunno cleared his throat. "Now then, Miss Kanako I was wondering, would you happen to know of a place called Gensokyo?"

The red god narrowed her eyes, uncaring that the white mage had taken up position next to the ferret. "I do. The question is, how do you know that name?"

Yunno sat back on his hind legs. "A couple of years ago, I came across an odd book while on a dig. The book itself was ancient, to the point where I had to keep it magically preserved just to read it. The contents of the book detailed centuries of life in this land known as Gensokyo. It detailed everything from the local landmarks, to the various beings that lived there." He chuckled. "It kind of read like a tourist guide."

"Anyways, most of the important names were worn off from time, but there was one name in particular that I remember. Hakurei. According to what I could gleam from the book, Hakurei was not only the name of the barrier that surrounded the land, but the name of it's guardian. Is any of this correct?" A simple nod was his only response.

"Wait, Yunno-kun. If you knew about this kind of information, why didn't you tell me before?"

The ferret looked up at his partner. "I wasn't sure it was related. I didn't make the connection until she mentioned that name."

"And? What are you going to do with this information?" An unreadable expression covered the god's face.

"As I stated, the book was incredibly worn. Yet, whoever wrote it took a great amount of care in preserving earlier entries. Everything from the creation of your magic system up to the death of the world's guardian is detailed. And among the various beings stated to have lived in Gensokyo, the book mentions the gods of the mountain." Yunno opened his eyes to stare at the towering being before him. "That's you, isn't it?"

"My, how nostalgic." The god raised her head, an amused smile on her face. "I haven't been called by that name in several millennia." She chuckled. "Has it really been that long? Yes. That name does in fact refer to me." The god's posture visibly relaxed. "And as for your next question: Gensokyo itself no longer exists. After the Hakurei miko's passing, the barrier started to fall apart."

"Was she the only one who could maintain it?"

Kanako looked at the brunette. "She might as well have been. None of her successors were as skilled as her. Eventually, the barrier shattered, and the real world and the illusion faded together. Our only options were to cross dimensions and gather faith from all who would listen, or disappear in a world that no longer believed in the Gods."

The nonchalant tone of her voice caused the brunette to cringe. To chose between the world you know, or a possible future in an unknown world. To make the choice so casually frightened her a bit. The being in front of her was willing to go to such lengths in order to continue her existence.

A sound from behind her made her quickly reconsider her previous thought. She forgot, Kanako wasn't the only one that would be in trouble.

"I'm back." Sanae bounced up the steps before looking back and forth between the white mage and the red god. "Did something happen?"

"No, it's nothing Sanae. Our guests were just leaving." The tone in her voice said everything.

"Yes. I guess we were." Nanoha turned back towards the stairs, a familiar weight returning to her shoulder. "Sanae-san, thank you. I'll see you later."

* * *

The God in red watched as the white mage turned to go down the stairs.

"Ah. Wait, Miss Nanoha. I'll go with you." Sanae started to head towards the stairs.

"Let them go Sanae." The priestess stopped to look at the God. "Let them do whatever they want. It doesn't matter."

"B-but…"

"You have an important job to do. Or did you forget that too?"

The miko shook her head violently. "No, I haven't. But, I can't just leave her alone. " Her voice dropped to a whisper. "She's my first friend."

Kanako sighed. _Why is this one so troublesome?_ "Sanae, you…" Her train of thought stopped as she took in the miko's appearance. "What happened to your sleeves?"

Sanae held up her arms. "Oh, those? I took them off. They kept getting in the way anyways."

"Urgh." Another sigh. "Sanae. The sleeves are a necessary part of the outfit. Without them your overall abilities will be affected and you won't be able to call on us effectively."

She had lectured her hundreds of times before, and just like all the other times, the girl in front of her started to zone out again. "Hah. You really are nothing like the original aren't you?"

A small gasp pulled her out of her reminiscing and back into the present. _Crap. I didn't mean to say that._ Looking at the girl, she realized she was already too late. The clenched fists and the averted eyes were all the proof she needed to know she messed up. "Sanae."

"I-I should be going now." Without another word, the young girl rushed down the stairs, desperately trying to catch up to the mage that just left.

"Ah, crap." Bringing a hand up to her head, the God could only wonder whether this was all worth it. Closing her eyes, she could feel the miko leaving the barrier. Stretching her consciousness a bit further she could feel her meeting up with the white mage on the steps to the temple, and the two of them agreeing to search together. She still didn't trust the white mage, but after her mistake, she knew Sanae wouldn't listen to her for a while.

_Now what should I do?_ Bringing her consciousness back inside the temple, Kanako leaned back to rest only to feel a strange magic presence. _That girl's magic?_

Following the presence, she felt it leave the temple, presumably because it found the girl more interesting than the temple. Whatever it was, she was glad it left. She didn't need anymore problems. Unfortunately, just as she thought that, another presence entered the room.

"Is this really all worth it?" Her eyes came to rest in the center of the room, and the blonde sitting on the floor. "Is it, Suwako?"


	5. Will of the Gods Part 2

Chapter 5: Will of the Gods Part 2

"I see." Night had fallen, or at least she thought it had. With the large barrier covering the city it was rather hard to tell. "So your magic is more… elemental?"

The pair flew over what was left of the town. Looking down on the buildings below her, Nanoha could see that the majority of the houses were surprisingly still intact. Although, they were probably unoccupied. Even the larger houses up at the top of the hill were most likely abandoned, or judging by the pools of blood littering the streets, the residents had already fallen victim to the hordes that were starting to come out of the shadows.

The lack of any noticeable magical barriers did nothing to lessen her fears.

"Um, I guess so." Sanae scratched the back of her head with her free hand. "By borrowing Lady Kanako's power, I can control the wind, and water to an extent."

"My power though…" The priestess scratched her cheek as she tried to think. "I guess it would be easier to say I can create miracles."

"Miracles?" That was certainly an unusual power.

"Yes. Um, what I mean is that I can bring about certain events." She tried to think of an example. "Oh, here's one. If I wanted to I could miraculously sneak past a group of people." She tilted her head at the white mage's concerned look. "O-or I could… oh, I can arrive just in the nick of time to save someone's life."

Nanoha felt a pang of guilt after hearing her last example, but quickly erased any possible expression that could give her away.

"What about your magic Miss Nanoha? I tried learning it a couple of years ago, but it was pretty difficult. What's your magic like?"

The brunette shook her head. This was a topic she could get interested in. "Midchildian magic is based around complex formulas and mathematical calculations. These formulas are used to gather and shape mana into a usable form for us to-"

A quick glance upward quickly pulled her out of teacher mode. Blank eyes were usually not a good sign when you're trying to explain something. "Anyways, Midchildian mages usually have their devices help them when casting." She shook Raising Heart for emphasis. "We sometimes have trouble with our spells as well."

While not exactly true, the little lie served its purpose. Light returned to Sanae's eyes and she started asking various questions about her magic.

_Nanoha, wait!_ Her partner's voice echoed through her mind.

"Yunno-kun? What's wrong?" Before she could get Sanae to stop, Yunno ran down her staff and jumped onto one of the walls surrounding a large Japanese style house.

The two jerked to a stop above the abandoned house. Nanoha and Yunno had decided to forgo mental communication while flying, as they weren't sure if the young priestess would be able to hear them. Thankfully, if she was able to hear him she didn't show it.

Taking a look at the house in front of her, Nanoha saw nothing but an abandoned Japanese style house. At least until her partner jumped into the yard, only to vanish from view.

"A barrier?"

The duo descended in front of the house. Stretching her arm, Nanoha looked around. Now that she was focusing a bit more, she could feel a faint barrier surrounding the area. It didn't feel malicious like the black barrier surrounding the city or foreboding like the one at the temple. Instead it looked like it was simply used as concealment, and reflecting back, she realized how simple a spell it was.

The house wasn't abandoned, or at least, it didn't look like it upon further inspection. _An illusion? No, it's far simpler than that._ Whatever spell was placed upon this house fooled anyone who saw it into thinking it either was abandoned or simply didn't exist.

_If the mages of this world are capable of spells like this, then maybe…_ Silently following behind the green miko, Nanoha created three small orbs behind her back. While Sanae curiously opened the gate, Nanoha released the orbs into the air, sending two down the street while keeping one hidden behind her.

"Whoa!" To the credit of whoever made the barrier, Sanae's excited yell was severely muffled. "Miss Nanoha! Look at this."

Nanoha stepped inside the gateway to find Sanae fawning over a motorcycle chained up against the side of the house. Judging by the amount of dirt covering it, she guessed it had been several years since it was last ridden.

"Huh? Miss Nanoha, what does this say? Ma-Mak-" Craning her neck over the girl's shoulder, Nanoha could see what looked like a name engraved on the bike. As the name was written in Japanese, she could make out the last name, but the first name was too worn off .

"Matou. I think."

"Is that what this is called?"

Nanoha laughed lightly. "No, this is a motorcycle. It looks like 'Matou' was the name of the owner."

"Oh, I see." The green miko pouted, like she wasn't allowed to play with a new toy. Straightening up, she looked at the door to the building. "Do you think anyone is here?"

"I'm not sure. But it's possible." If the barrier surrounding the house was still active, then it was certainly possible that the caster was still here.

Sanae's face lit up in a smile. "Great. Then let's go." Without waiting for an answer, Sanae jumped forward and started trying to unlock the door.

Laughing at the girl's energy, Nanoha stepped beside her and helped her with the lock.

* * *

To say she was disappointed was an understatement. The two had searched at least half of the rooms so far, and had not found anyone. The information she received from her search spell told her that most of the other rooms were empty as well.

Then again, she should have expected this after entering the building. The hallway leading to the sitting room, as well as the room in question, was completely bare. Whoever had lived here had obviously moved out some time ago. Most likely years before the current situation.

The only items of note she had found were a couple of books that were most likely forgotten during the move. Holding them in her hands, the first two looked like nothing more than textbooks, at least on the surface. The third book however, looked like a diary or memoir of some sort. She would have to look into it later.

"Darn it." It looked like the tedious search was beginning to get to her partner as well. "Nothing again. I was sure we would have found something by now."

Stomping her foot, the miko slammed the door before moving on down the hall.

"It doesn't look like there's anyone still living here. If they were we probably would have seen them by now."

"Ah. Maybe you're right." Sanae slammed the door shut. "Great. I can already hear Lady Kanako now. 'Sanae, you should be out gathering faith.' 'What have I told you about misusing our powers.' "Blah blah blah, don't do what you want to do, do what you're supposed to do.'"

Nanoha stifled a laugh at the younger girl's expense. "Well I guess that's to be expected though, right?" She opened up another door only to be greeted with an empty bed frame. It wasn't a person, but it wasn't anything useful either. "Gathering faith is necessary for maintaining your existence and powers right? I'm sure it's just her way of showing how much she cares about you."

"No. That's not it." Closing the door, Nanoha saw the green haired girl slumped over, her hair obscuring her face from view. "The only one Lady Kanako cares about is the original. Not me."

She froze. _Original? It can't be._ Taking a step towards the girl, she asked, "What do you mean? Sanae-san, are you a clone of someone?"

"Huh?" The girl jumped before turning around in confusion. "Cl-clone? No, no I'm nothing like that." Waving her arms in front of her, she tried to explain. "I'm not a clone. At least, not technically. I am Sanae Kochiya, but at the same time, I'm not the original."

Looking away she continued. "I guess you could say I'm a reincarnation of the original Sanae Kochiya."

Nanoha let out a sigh of relief. _It's not the same._ Hearing the word 'original' had immediately brought to mind several memories of the past. It certainly didn't help that Sanae's situation was eerily similar to Fate's in some aspects.

"She's always comparing me to my original." Looking over, Nanoha could see a plastic smile covering her face as she dived into unpleasant memories. "She was a powerful Youkai hunter and was well loved by the people of Gensokyo, or whatever it was called. Even my precious incarnation was stronger than I am."

Groaning to herself, Nanoha could only watch as the girl dove deeper and deeper into her mind.

"And what about you?"

"Huh?"

The miko perked up. With empty eyes, she stared at the mage clearly at a loss for what to do.

"What about you? I've been wondering for a while now how it is you're so knowledgeable about the TSAB. So I was wondering if you could tell me more about yourself." It was true. At the very least she was curious about the girl's past.

Sanae flushed a vivid pink before shaking her head. "M-me? Well, I guess so. M-my past isn't all that exciting, but if you really want to hear it?" She timidly looked up to see Nanoha nodding at her.

"Oh, well my previous incarnation died about eighteen years ago, I think, and I was reincarnated a couple of weeks later. At least from what Lady Kanako told me." She scratched her chin. "Um, I was born on a planet called Osin. It's a really pretty place, and I really want to go back there someday." Nanoha nodded to herself. Osin, if she recalled correctly, is a mostly rural planet under TSAB jurisdiction. Magical activity isn't common there, which would explain how she went unnoticed.

"I actually lived there until I was about seven. Lady Kanako said we had to leave so I could learn more and so I would be able to perform my duties as priestess of the Moriya Shrine."

_Damn, she falling back into painful memories._ Acting quickly, Nanoha asked, "And what about the TSAB? How did you find out about us?"

Sanae flushed briefly before a happy smile graced her face. "Actually, remember how I said I could miraculously go someplace without being seen. When I was around five or six I started doing that." Sanae laughed to herself. "When I'm reincarnated, I don't retain any of my previous self's memories, so I have to relearn everything. Around that time I learned about my power, so I would use that power to go and play."

Still smiling, she opened the next door and peeked inside. "I actually found this one place that I really liked to play at. The only problem was it was at a school, so naturally, someone found me." Closing the door lightly, she moved on to the next one. "The kids there were pretty upset that I had been sneaking in, and they wanted to throw me out the same way I had come in." She made an arching motion with her hands. "Right over the fence."

Her staff hit the ground as she tried to keep herself from falling over. Waving away Sanae's concern, she motioned for the girl to continue.

"Well, before they could do anything, someone stopped them. I don't remember what he looked like. All I remember is him wearing this really cool uniform. He stopped the kids from throwing me out and actually convinced them to let me stay."

Nanoha didn't think it was possible, but the girl's smile brightened even more than before.

"He was a TSAB mage who had come to the school for a presentation. He let me stay and watch the presentation too."

She couldn't help but smile herself as a personal memory surfaced. She remembered Vita and herself being asked to speak at a local school once. The memory of the great Iron Hammer getting stage fright in front of a stadium of students continues to be one of her favorites.

"It was so cool. He spoke about what he did for a living, answered some questions, and he even showed us some magic. But the part I remember the most is one story in particular he told us. I'll never forget it." The priestess closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall.

"He told us how he managed to save this one boy's life during an incident. It was during a robbery gone wrong. One of the robbers had taken a child hostage and tried to run. The mage was able to stop him and protect the boy from being hurt. All the boy could say was 'thank you'. He said it was that moment that made him proud to be a mage."

_I see._ _Since that moment she wanted to be a mage._ A noble reason. To want to save lives and protect people. Oblivious to Nanoha's inner thoughts, Sanae continued to speak about the presenter from her youth.

"Unfortunately, we left the planet within the next year. I wanted to stay, but Lady Kanako didn't let me." Her smile faded. "At this point, I wonder if it's still possible."

"Of course it is." Green hair swished wildly as the miko quickly turned her head towards the white mage. "I don't see how you wouldn't be accepted."

Wide eyes stared at her as Nanoha continued. "Of course, the TSAB is essentially a military organization, so you would have to pass several tests just to start training for the position you wanted. But with your powers, I don't think you would have any trouble being ranked."

"R-really?"

Nanoha nodded. "Yep. Then again, Kanako-san might be an issue. Especially seeing as she doesn't like the TSAB for some reason." Seeing the crestfallen look on the other girl's face, she quickly waved away her worry. "Then again, I'm sure we can always come to an agreement. Besides, if you help people, wouldn't that be like gaining faith?"

Sanae laughed to herself, seemingly agreeing. She quickly opened her mouth and closed it, before eyeing Raising Heart curiously.

"Um, would I be able to get a device as well?"

A chuckle escaped her throat. "Yes, yes I'm sure you will be given your own device as well." Seeing the girl happy, all the complications that she would have to go through didn't seem that important at the moment.

* * *

Stepping out onto the wet grass, he quietly closed the door behind him. The small dojo was surprisingly clean despite no one being there in close to a decade. Whoever had used it previously had obviously taken very good care of it. That being said, it was rather unfortunate that he had been unable to find anything of use within.

Adjusting his glasses, he scanned the open yard in front of him. The only thing left to check was the small shed sitting in the corner. Ignoring the voices coming from inside the house, he started across the yard.

Looking up, he could still see the dark sky hanging above. Letting his mind wander briefly, he began to really appreciate the barrier surrounding the house. It didn't exude any noticeable presence, to the point where you wouldn't even know it was there unless you were searching for it, and it only had a single purpose. The barrier was designed to react to all hostile presences and warn the occupants. Then again, that was the inside barrier.

What had caught his attention had been the barrier surrounding the first one. No, it seemed more appropriate to call it a charm. Another simple charm, one that covered an area and made all who saw it disregard it. Extremely simple, and barely noticeable. It was perfect for hiding something in plain sight, and would have kept the house hidden possibly forever if not for one small detail. Whoever had cast the charm had made the field too big.

He laughed at how funny it was. The only reason he had noticed was because his partner had brushed up against the barrier.

Coming to a stop, he took in the object before him. From the outside it looked like nothing more than a normal tool shed. The rusted door lock and paint chipped windows not doing much to dissuade him.

Gripping the lock in his hands, he sighed as it started to fall to pieces in his hands. It certainly saved him the trouble of trying to unlock it. Then again, he was rather surprised at the lack of magical locks.

Opening the door to the shed, he had to suppress another sigh. His first opinion was that he had hit another dud. A pair of laundry machines lined the wall and various items littered the ground. He supposed there was a possibility that the ladder led to something of interest, but he wasn't hopeful.

He started into the small shed only to stop mid step. An old rug covered the floor, but that wasn't what made him stop.

Whisking the rug out-of-the-way, the man stepped back to better examine his find. He had finally found something of note, in the form of a large magic circle that was seemingly carved into the floor.

Kneeling down to inspect the circle, he came to a surprising realization. The circle itself had been created more than twenty years ago. Unfortunately, the purpose of the circle eluded him as his knowledge of this world's magic was still scarce. He would have to remedy that as soon as he got back to the library.

The real surprise however was the letters carved into the circle. Belkan script. A recent addition judging from the lack of wear. At least from the letters he could still see. Upon examination, he determined that whoever had added the script had used it for one purpose and then attempted to remove or destroy the writing. A long-range teleportation spell if he was reading everything correctly.

However, the question remained. How had this mage learned of Belkan script of all things? And who or what was sent using the spell?

A sudden uneasiness prevented him from continuing his current train of thought. Looking around the small shed yielded no answers and he quickly realized it wouldn't offer him as much protection as he would most likely need.

For the second time in minutes, he came to a sudden stop upon exiting the shed. The sudden uneasiness grew, and he quickly found himself holding his breath. He couldn't exactly place the feeling, but if he had to guess, he was being targeted. By what he could not tell.

The empty yard yielded no clues to the whereabouts of this possible assailant. A strange feeling as all the warning he received before it happened.

A piercing shot through the heart. His world turned black as his mind struggled to register what had just happened.

Taking a step forward, he managed to stop himself from falling over. Bringing a hand up to his chest, he felt nothing. No blood, no hole in his chest, no arrow.

Killing intent. He swallowed his fear and surveyed the yard again. Several yards in front of him he could feel something. He didn't know what or who it was, but this being, hidden in the very ether, had just produced enough killing intent to cause him to hallucinate his own death.

It took all the willpower he could muster not to erect a barrier in front of himself. The barrier surrounding the house, as far as he knew, would not hinder his magic if he used it. But he was not willing to take that chance when standing in front of an unknown enemy. All he could do was stare back at where he believed the being was and wait for its next move.

After several agonizing seconds, he could feel the being leave, seemingly satisfied with the man before it.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he sat down on the step into the shed. This would certainly be an interesting experience to relate to his partner inside. He briefly considered going back inside to study the circle in greater detail, but decided it wasn't worth the risk of provoking the being again.

With a few calming breaths, the man began walking towards the house, his body rapidly changing shape. He figured it was about time to meet up with his partner again.

Safety in numbers certainly made sense.

* * *

"That's everything." The white mage stretched her arms, taking care not to drop the books in her hands or hit anything with her staff. "I don't think we'll find anything else of value here."

Sanae nodded. While her mood had been lifted earlier, not being able to find anyone was a big letdown. As a result, now she wasn't sure what to do.

Her "mission", according to Lady Kanako, seemed simple. Her job was to protect the people still living within the city with her miracles, and was occasionally allowed to hunt for the "dead" that walked around during the night. Just thinking about it caused her to grind her teeth in disgust.

Her job was to protect, but never save. Even remembering the last conversation they had had on the subject was enough to make her start shaking.

"Are you alright, Sanae-san?" The worried voice snapped her out of her trance. She inwardly cringed as she realized she had involuntarily grabbed herself to stop shaking.

"I'm fine Miss Nanoha. Sorry about that." Shaking her head to clear her mind, she looked into worried blue eyes and put on her best smile. "So, where should we go next?"

The brunette tilted her head in thought. Closing her eyes, she began, "I'm not sure. I'm worried about the rest of my unit, but I want to check out the rest of the to-"

Blue eyes snapped open, and the white mage quickly turned to look up the street. Confused, Sanae moved next to her and tried to look for what had startled her, a hastily created paper seal clenched in her hand.

"Miss Nanoha? What's wrong? Is it an enemy?"

"No, it's not that." She pointed with her staff up the hill, towards the more western houses. "Earlier I sent a Search Spell out to see if there were any other barriers like this one." She smiled. "It looks like I found one."

_A Search Spell? What does she mean?_ Her brow furrowed in confusion before a more pressing question came to mind. "Wait, Miss Nanoha, do you mean you were looking around outside while we were inside the house? How?"

Nanoha's body jerked slightly, apparently she hadn't been expecting to be asked. Laughing to herself, she shifted the books under her arm and turned to the green-haired girl.

"Well, that's…" She shifted her head towards the staff in her hand. A couple of seconds later, it finally clicked.

_That's right. Miss Nanoha said something about her staff helping her with spells._ Looking down at the gold and white staff, she couldn't help but be envious.

"Sorry Sanae-san. I'll be happy to answer any of your questions later." She turned to look up the hill. "But right now… That barrier worries me."

_That is so cool!_ Shaking her head to regain her composure, Sanae smiled and walked to her side. "Then we should go together. It'll be faster if we go together."

Already expecting agreement, Sanae started forward, only to be stopped by a single word. "But…"

Turning back, she could see the white mage looking up at the barrier covering the city. "Would that really be the best course of action?" Lowering her gaze, her eyes bore into Sanae's. "Sanae-san, about how long has this been going on do you reckon?"

She gulped unconsciously. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, how long have these people been imprisoned here?"

He mind blanked. _Imprisoned?_ Old memories began to resurface. Memories that she had tried to forget.

_Why is she doing this?_ _Why here? Why does this feel like a prison?_ Questions from long ago jumped into her mind.

"Ah, sorry." Refocusing her eyes, she saw the brunette look away in embarrassment. "Perhaps 'imprisoned' was the wrong word."

Forcing back memories of black eyes, she shook her head. "No, you're right. It is a prison."

_Never to leave, to always be protected, but never saved. All to gather faith._ She hated that black dome. "But it's impossible." _It's impossible to save these people. After all, the barrier is 'her' work. Then again, this is all supposed to be for… me. Right?_

"So you can't break through the barrier, huh?" A single nod was her answer. "I'm guessing Kanako-san can't do much either. She did say she was bad with curses." Another nod.

The brunette laughed quietly. "Well then, why don't we all try together?" The green-haired girl could only look at her in shock. "I'm pretty sure all of us can break through with enough force. Plus, while he may not look it, Yunno-kun is pretty good with field magic and barriers."

Turning towards the wall, she caught the brown familiar shake his head in… exasperation.

The thought of working together with her to break the barrier had never even crossed her mind. Then again, none of the other mages in the city had shown any interest in working with others either.

_But, is that really for the best?_ Despite her inner protests, she found herself smiling. This was finally her chance. Her chance to do what she wanted, rather than what she had been forced to do. Ever since the barrier had gone up, she had wanted to protect the people who needed help to the fullest extent of her abilities.

She had been told not to save them. But now she had the opportunity to leave, and maybe even become a mage. She would just have to get Lady Kanako to listen to her.

_Faith._ Her smile faltered. _This whole situation was created to gather faith._ She hated that. As far as she knew, Lady Kanako had gathered more than enough faith from the people here as well as from other planets they had visited. Which meant that it was all to gather faith for her. _To make me as strong as my predecessor or the original._

She hated that thought.

"Further east."

Nanoha was pulled out of her thoughts by the sudden exclamation.

Picking up her head, Sanae continued, "Further east there's a group of people hiding out. I can find them and bring them to everyone else."

The white mage smiled. "Okay." She pointed her staff towards the city. "The majority of my squad is searching the city for anyone hiding out." She shifted her staff over towards the edge of the city. "I left two members of my squad to try to find a way through the barrier. I'm not sure how well they're doing, but they should have made some progress by now."

"I planned to gather everyone I could find at the park there and, if necessary force our way out."

"Okay." She thought she understood what the mage wanted to do. "So I just have to bring everyone there, and we'll try to get everyone out. Right?"

"Not try. We will protect everyone we can." With those words, she felt more determined than ever.

"I'm sure the group hiding out will feel more comfortable if you go to them." That was true. Plus, she could fly. As the hiding group was further away she would be able to make the journey quicker.

With a short nod from both women, the white mage started up the hill, her familiar following behind her.

Without a sound, The green miko pushed off from the ground and took to the sky.

* * *

The scenery passed below her at a frightening pace. She knew the path. She had taken it upon herself to learn the location of each group of people in hiding in case something had ever happened.

With a speed that surprised even her, she flew between the houses lining the streets. Finally finding the one she was looking for, she skidded to a stop on the road.

The house in front of her was a rather dilapidated building. The second floor had already caved in. An effect of the curses surrounding the city. She wasn't worried however, as the people were hiding in a hidden basement.

Without a care for her own safety, she jumped over the broken gate outside the house and headed inside. Her sneakers dully thudded on the dusty tile.

She had a clear goal. So what if this was all done for her sake. It wasn't what she wanted. Why should she gain anything from the suffering of others. If it meant more power, she didn't want it.

Throwing open the steel grate, the mage's words echoed through her mind.

_Those with power will use it. The only question left is how that power is used. Will it be for the good of the self or for others?_

She had her answer. No, she had her answer a long time ago.

Jumping down the hole, she thought of what she would say. _ I have come to save you._ Not the most eloquent message but it would do the job.

Hitting the ground with a splash, her words died in her throat.

The room was pitch black, yet she could see perfectly. The lamps that were used to light up the room were broken and scattered across the floor. Several indistinct shapes were strewn about the room and a strange liquid covered the ground. In the center of the room on top of a small table, probably used for meals, sat a young girl in a purple dress.

"Ara, Sanae, what are you doing here?" Without turning around, the girl brushed off the brown hat in her hands and placed it back on her head, the strange eyes on the top of the hat blinking in the darkness.

She was trembling. "L-Lady Suwako?"

With a happy laugh, the blonde turned towards the trembling miko, her eyes closed. "Yes, Sanae?"

She slowly looked around the room, the shapes gradually becoming clearer. "What is this?" She knew the answer. But she needed to ask. She needed to hope.

"Oh, this? Just getting rid of some garbage." The blonde opened her eyes to reveal orbs of gold surrounded by pure black.

The miko took a step back out of reflex. A loud splash sent a shiver up her spine.

"Why?"

"Why, you ask?" The girl jumped off the table into the puddle below her. "Because they lost their faith."

_What? _Words failed to form as her mind tried to take in the situation. _Because they lost their faith?_

_"_So you killed everyone?" Her voice echoed through the small room. _For such a stupid reason!_

"Of course." Her blood froze. "The only reason they were alive in the first place was to provide faith for you and Kanako. If they can't do that, then there is no reason to keep them around."

_I-I could have…_

"Or were you just thinking you could restore their faith." Gold eyes bore into her. "Do you really think you are skilled enough to restore someone's lost faith?"

She was comparing her to the original again. Setting a bar that she had no way of meeting.

But, "That's still no reason to kill them." She was shaking. "I wanted to save them. I wanted to protect them. To protect everyone."

"Could you?" Golden eyes looked up at her, filled with pity. "Sanae. Why do you think I did this?" She took a step forward. "I did this for you. You are a God, yet you've lost so much of your power over the many millennia. Without faith, you cannot live." Another step. "And you certainly wouldn't be able to protect anyone."

Cruel. That was all she had known the blonde Curse God as. If something wasn't right, she would fix it, usually in a way that would cause the most chaos. She was the one who had created the barrier overhead, let the 'dead' run free, and removed any obstacles to what she saw as a noble cause.

In the God's eyes, everything was done for the sake of those she loved. That was the reason the miko feared her.

"I-I didn't want something like this." She was crying now. Her dreams, the life she wanted, she would never be able to have them. As a God her destiny was already decided.

A small hand landed on her shoulder. "Go home for now Sanae." The blonde floated next to her. "Everything will be as it was soon enough."

Without another word the girl flew up to the surface and disappeared into the night.

The miko finally collapsed onto her knees. _Why? Faith, Youkai hunting, Gensokyo. I don't care about any of those things so why?_

Unable to come up with an answer, all she could do was sit and apologize endlessly for the actions of the only family she had ever known.


End file.
